percyjacksonfanfictionfandomcom-20200216-history
Splitting a Soul~Chapter 29
Kimi After dropping off Jack, I returned to my room at the Big House and looked over my things. There wasn’t much, but what I had I treasured dearly. I took my camera from my bag and saw that the screen was slightly cracked in the corner, but everything worked fine as I looked over the pictures from our trip. Computers weren’t allowed at camp for obvious reasons, but I knew that that Athena cabin had their own enchanted set of laptops. Aisling would sometimes bring me over and I could use their photo printer. I looked at our visit to Niagara Falls and remembered that one picture I had saved to the camera and deleted from the card. I pulled that up and couldn’t help but laugh as I watched Aisling falling over in front of us. There was another of Jack’s car before and after the repair, as well as a few shots of Gear’s shop. There was one of Ash laughing with his grandfather at the Thanksgiving party and something struck me. His smile was completely genuine as he sat in his chair and it hurt that he felt the need to hide his true feelings from us, from me. “You don’t have to face things alone Ash,” I said out loud to no one really. “Guys can be like that,” I heard from my doorway and I almost dropped my camera from pure shock. I looked up and saw Rachel Elizabeth Dare brushing her curly red hair with her blue hairbrush. I had heard a few legends about that hairbrush and how it was one of the most fearsome weapons in existence and how it defeated the Titan Kronos, but I was sure they were exaggerated. “Sorry, I was just spacing out,” I said to the Oracle and she just rolled her eyes before walking over and plopping down on my bed. “Don’t be sorry for speaking your mind. I knew this one guy that always carried the weight of the sky on his shoulders,” she said with a shrug. “Atlas?” I asked. “No thanks, I have a GPS on my phone for when I travel,” Rachel said as she pulled it from a pocket in her long green dress. “But anyway, guys always feel like they have to protect those that are closest to them; some kind of macho thing I think.” “Ash isn’t really the macho type,” I joked with her. Rachel and I got along pretty well and some new campers thought she was my older sister because of our bright red hair. She had been the camp’s Oracle for a long time so she knew almost every demigod that had attended camp. I think we got along so well because we were both misfits in a way; I was an unclaimed child with no past and she was a mortal in a camp of super-powered demigods. At least she was the camp’s Oracle so she had a purpose, something I felt like I was lacking. “I can’t really disagree with you there. Ash isn’t exactly a child of Hercules but he does try his best to protect those he cares about,” Rachel said, giving me a knowing look and I felt the heat rise to my face and I felt like the room was on fire. Rachel then gave me a wide eyed look as she pointed behind me. “Put your hair out!” I looked in the mirror and saw that my hair was radiating small flames and sparks. I started to take in a few deep breaths to calm myself and the glow from my hair began to fade. “That happen often?” Rachel asked. I just blushed harder, but managed to keep my hair under control this time. “Not often,” I said before trying to change the subject, but couldn’t think of anything. “Listen, I’m not going to tell you what to do, I’ll let my prophecies do that when I give them, but don’t be afraid to say what you feel. Just go with the flow and paint yourself gold,” Rachel suggested. “Is that some kind of metaphor because I’m not painting myself gold,” I told her and she looked at me puzzled. “You know I’m not really sure, but whenever I try to make an important decision I paint myself gold. It makes me feel rich,” she said with a smile. “Isn’t your dad some kind of huge businessman?” I asked her and her smile turned to a scowl. “I don’t really converse with that part of my family,” she said, brushing the air like trying to get rid of a bad smell. “But just think about what I said and get some rest, you look like you are about to pass out.” “Thanks Rachel,” I said and she gave me a hug out of nowhere before jumping off the bed and walking down the hall to the stairs. I did follow at least part of her advice and got under the covers of my bed. Sleep came fast, but the nightmares weren’t far behind. My nightmares were all very much the same, but that didn’t mean they didn’t terrify me. I watched as cities all across the world were destroyed in increasingly terrible ways. Philadelphia was completely flooded as a tidal wave crashed through the city. Tornadoes ripped apart the Hollywood sign and continued through the city. The Eiffel Tower began to freeze as snow and ice covered every part of it. Even worse was that at the end, a spiral of Elemental power climbed up the Empire State Building and consumed Olympus, trapping the gods in their home and blocking their power. “Where are you?” the Elementals would say in unison. “You can’t hide from us!” They always asked that, as if they were looking for something important; something that was lost or hidden from them. But how do you hide something from the forces of nature? “I’ve found you,” I heard from behind me. I turned around and saw a volcano erupt in the distance. The lava began to form into the form of a large giant and I knew I was looking at the Lava Elemental, a mix of fire and rock. “Your power will be mine!” I woke up in a shock and discovered I wasn’t in my room anymore, but the middle of the large field Camp Half-Blood used for their Capture the Flag games. “How did I…” I began, but Zeus’ Fist erupted in fire and lava began to pour from the area where the rock pile once stood. It burned the trees and grass nearby and swirled around forming a massive figure that could have used Zeus’ Fist as a boxing glove. I was used to sleep walking, but facing down a lava monster was definitely new, at least as far as I could figure. “Your power will be mine!” the Lava Elemental shouted as he reached for me. I stood frozen in fear as his massive hand came closer. “Kimi, down!” I heard and instinctively ducked my head. I opened my eyes and saw the ground around me shoot up and impale Lava’s hand. It roared in pain and drew his massive hand back. Several more pillars appeared all around the field and stabbed Lava in his chest and legs. Water rushed in from the small river and washed over Lava’s body, cooling him down and causing steam to fill the air. “You will melt and burn,” Lava called as it moved itself forward, almost willing itself to boil as it moved. I couldn’t do anything as I watched Ash call on the elements to fight this giant. He fought with a type of ferocity that I didn’t know he had. Every attack ended with the beginning of another, leaving no room to counter. “Die mortal!” “I don’t plan on it,” Ash said confidently. I noticed that as he attacked, he kept moving closer and closer. The heat didn’t seem to bother him as he was now only a few steps away from the large Elemental. Amazingly, he was pushing it back and Lava began to shrink as bits of cool rock broke off from the main body. Before long, it stood at a reasonable eight feet, but the Elemental seemed tired and out of breath as Ash just kept going until he was right in front of the monster. “You will all be destroyed,” Lava said as he gazed down at Ash. “Even if I am not the one to do it; the forces of nature will rip your small world apart.” “Then I’ll just have to do something about that,” Ash said and stabbed his sword right through the Lava Elemental. I imagined him turning to golden dust or dissolving into the ground, but that didn’t happen. His power and being seemed to be absorbed into Ash’s sword. I could see the Elemental forces being directed into the blade as it glowed with crimson light. Then just like that, it was over with Ash and I alone in the field. Ash looked at his blade like it was the first time he had seen it and swung it at the open field. A wave of lava erupted from the ground and spread out in front of him and in the dim light from the lava, I thought I saw a smile and it scared me.